


Unwind and Intertwine

by worldsgreatestwaifu



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Hair Braiding, I haven't even played the games lmao, M/M, no spoilers really, post-Revelations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-04-23
Packaged: 2018-06-04 01:48:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6636064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/worldsgreatestwaifu/pseuds/worldsgreatestwaifu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elise really wanted to braid someone's hair and Takumi seemed like the prime subject. Somehow, this ended up with him and her brother hooking up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unwind and Intertwine

**Author's Note:**

> After revising this a few times, I decided to just post it. This is my first fic, so be gentle? Ahahaha, but yes, please critique. (Also, how does one title things.)

The mild summer days – the ones where it was warm and the sun shined, but the breeze abated the heat – were Takumi’s favorite. On days like these he would open the door connecting his room to the veranda, grab whatever book had piqued his interest as of late, and sit himself up against the door frame.

The two younger Nohrian siblings had been there for the past few days – according to them, Xander had sent them to share news of Nohr’s rebuilding progress and also to request some aid at a border village – but Takumi (and everyone else for that matter) suspected that at least part of the reason he sent them was so they could have a moment of relaxation. Takumi assumes that Leo put up a fight, _he didn’t need a break_ , but the conditions in Nohr were finally looking on the bright side and Xander had become more eager to dote on his siblings. So here they were, given time away from politics and the like.

Elise was certainly elated at this chance. She would drag Sakura this way and that, making her play every game under the sun. Leo spent a majority of his time with Takumi, where they would debate over military tactics and ancient philosophies, or play one of their strategy games. Takumi had finally managed to beat Leo at chess yesterday, to the chagrin of the latter. Leo had yet to beat Takumi at shogi, but Leo would defend himself by reminding the other that they had played chess together much more often than they had played shogi. _Given the chance to learn, I’ll have no problems beating you_. Takumi had laughed at him smugly. Takumi knew Leo was an absolutely brilliant strategist, but he would never outwardly acknowledge it. Leo was cocky enough as it was and Takumi saw no need to add fuel to that fire.

  
There was a knock on his door.

  
“Come in.” He dog-eared his page and placed the book beside him.

  
In burst Elise and tailing behind – as expected – was Sakura.

  
“Takumi! Let us play with your hair!” She beamed at him and held up some ribbons and a brush. Sakura looked a bit uncomfortable, not used to making demands of her siblings.

  
He rubbed the back of his head, uncertainty on his face, as he tried to think up a way to deny this request. Elise decided to pull out the big guns and put on her best puppy face.

  
“Please? Pretty please!?”

  
Takumi dropped his arm to his lap and sighed. He was never good at turning away pushy people – as long as they were good natured.

  
“Fine.”

  
Takumi picked up his book and they moved out onto the veranda. He sat on the edge with his feet on the ground and then undid his hair. It was long enough that a good few inches rested on the floor.

  
“Okay, go ahead.”

  
Elise immediately went to work, pulling the comb through his hair. He winced a bit as she tore through a tangle. Sakura sat next to her and only watched with a smile. Takumi decided to return to his reading. The birds were singing a peaceful song as Sakura and Elise traded words here and there.

  
When he had gotten about another 10 pages in, Elise brought him back to reality with a resounding, “Done!”

  
She sounded quite proud of herself, but when Takumi turned around, her expression changed to one of disappointment. He glanced towards Sakura who let out a small chuckle and then quickly hid her mouth behind her hand. He looked back at Elise, and then stood up to walk over to his mirror.

  
He could at least tell she was trying to give him twin braids, but they were extremely uneven and messy. One braid started halfway up his head while the other one started below his ear. He couldn’t help but laugh.

  
“You’re not very good at this, are you?” He turned back towards the girls and chuckled.

  
Elise pouted. “Well, I don’t normally do my own hair! It’s usually one the maids or my siblings!” She crossed her arms and turned away.

  
Takumi walked back over to them and returned to his spot.

  
“Why don’t you try again, then? Practice makes perfect, right?” He smiled gently at her. Most people wouldn’t expect it, since he had a short temper and was rather impatient, but Takumi was great with those younger than him.

  
Elise turned back to face him, a giant grin on her face. She gave a big nod.

  
“You’re really nice, you know that Takumi?”

  
He blushed a bit, startled by the sudden compliment.

  
“Uh, T-thanks?”

  
Sakura giggled at him. Elise was about to undo her previous attempt when there was a knock on the door, all heads turning to face it. Before Takumi could say anything, Elise shouted, “Come in!”

  
Whoever was behind the door hesitated a moment before opening it.

  
“Why is Elise –“

  
Leo looked across the room at the small group and noticed the absolute mess that was Takumi’s hair. He tried his best to suppress his laughter, but he was obviously having a hard time.

  
Elise pouted again.

  
Takumi gave him a scowl that slowly turned into a smirk. “Hey, are you sure you should be laughing at your sister’s hard work?”

  
Leo looked a little taken off-guard but then steadied himself. “Ah, my apologies. I didn’t mean to laugh at you, Elise.”

  
“Hmph!” She paused a bit. “It’s fine. I know it’s bad.” She looked extremely deflated, which made Leo feel guilty. He took a few steps towards her and was about to apologize again, but her expression suddenly brightened. She hopped up from her seat and ran towards her brother. She grabbed his arm and yanked him over to the others, causing him to stumble a bit on the way.

  
“Ah, Elise?”

  
“Takumi, Leo’s great at doing hair!” She grinned. “Here, sit here, brother!” She pulled his arm down in an attempt to make him sit behind Takumi.

  
“I don’t really…” He clearly looked reluctant.

  
Takumi wouldn’t miss a chance to mess with him. “Oh? Leo, I didn’t know you were skilled at styling hair! Why don’t you show me? Go right ahead.” He gave Leo a teasing grin.

  
Leo glared at him. Takumi knew he couldn’t back down from a challenge. Leo huffed and knelt behind him. Elise went over to Sakura and pulled her out towards the small garden that was within view of his room.

  
Leo began untying Takumi’s hair and ran his fingers through the braids to undo them. He grabbed the comb and ran it through the strands. His hair was soft and well-taken care of, no split-ends to find.

  
“I’m surprised at how nice your hair is.” Leo said without thinking.

  
Takumi blushed as he turned to face Leo. “W-what? You think I can’t take care of my hair?”

  
Leo smirked. “Well, I didn’t imagine you one to care much about these things.”

  
Takumi crossed his arms, pulling a similar expression to the one Elise had on earlier, and turned back to face the garden. Leo decided to go back to working on his hair.

  
Takumi watched as Elise showed his sister how to make flower crowns, and Sakura caught on quickly, as he imagined she would.

He suddenly remembered his abandoned book and reached over to it. He forgot to mark his spot but after a bit of skimming, he found it again. He tried to read, but after one page, he gave up. As interesting as the book was, he found the mixture of the girls chattering away and the new distraction of Leo humming to make it nearly impossible to focus on.

He placed the book on his lap and closed his eyes, trying to recognize the tune Leo was making. The song was pleasant, giving Takumi a peaceful feeling. He wondered if the song was something specifically Nohrian.

With his eyes closed, he could more acutely feel how Leo pulled at his hair. He was extremely gentle and Takumi chocked it up to having to deal with his little sister’s mess of hair. He could tell that Leo was taking his time, slowly smoothing each chunk before weaving in into whatever look he was creating.

Leo was meticulous in his work, so it was no surprise that he would strive for the upmost perfection, even with something as minor as this. Takumi had never noticed how nice it was to have someone play with his hair. The light skidding of fingertips on his scalp was calming. He began to hum the tune that Leo had been humming just moments ago.

Leo chuckled a little, below Takumi’s notice. Suddenly, there was a puff of air on Takumi’s neck.

  
“Ah!” Takumi yelped, jolting upwards. The girls jumped in surprise and stared at him curiously as Leo laughed. His face turned a deep red. He whipped his head around to yell at Leo, whapping him in the face with his hair in the process.

  
“Why did you do that?!” Takumi placed his hands on the floor the balance himself in his twisted position.

  
“I’m finished,” is all Leo said, as if that explained everything. Takumi heard the girls walking back over to them.

  
“Oh, wow! This is… b-beautiful, Prince Leo.” Sakura looked like she was in awe. Leo’s expression changed to one of pride. This made Takumi terribly curious, so he decided to go check it out. He got up and walked back over to his mirror, the others trailing behind.

It wasn’t exceptionally complicated, just a diagonal French braid secured with a ribbon, but it was extremely neat and even, not a strand out of place. Takumi was honestly surprised at how well Leo did.

  
“I told you, my brother’s great with hair!” Elise stated proudly. She went off on a tangent, something about how Xander was an absolute disaster at styling, but Takumi was still busy admiring Leo’s work in the mirror. The ends of the ribbon were even lined up perfectly.

  
“Elise, would you please give that to me?” He heard Leo say.

  
Leo walked beside him and placed a flower crown on his head, adjusting it until it looked just right. “There,” he said with a devious smile. Takumi looked at him questioningly.

  
“Now you look like a princess! No, a queen!” Elise said excitedly. Takumi felt a little embarrassed by this comment, but he knew she didn’t mean any harm, so he let it by. Leo, on the other hand, did not. “Why, I didn’t know you were a queen. I apologize, your Highness, I should’ve shown more respect.” His mouth widened into a smirk.

  
Takumi scoffed at his attempt to rile him up while the girls giggled. Elise turned to Leo, the sun practically shining from her face.

  
“If Takumi’s the queen, are you the king?” She had a giant smile on as the rest of them looked at her in shock. Takumi had finally lost his ability to restrain his blush and even Leo dusted slightly pink. Sakura decided to take a step back from whatever might happen next. Before Takumi could think of a reply, Leo knelt down on the ground and looked Elise in the eyes.

  
“Would you do me the honors of crowning me, Elise?” He smiled up at her. She grinned even wider, Takumi didn’t know how that was possible, and placed the other flower crown she had on his head.

  
Takumi was downright incredulous at what was happening. Leo slowly stood up to face him. He grabbed Takumi’s hands and brought them up between their chests, giving him a smile that nearly looked genuine. “My queen, you are looking quite lovely today.”

  
Takumi’s face was hot and his heart hammered away as if it was trying to escape his chest. He tried to yank his hands away, but Leo had a firm grip. He glanced over at Elise, who looked like this was the most fun she’d had in days, and then towards his sister, who looked like all she wanted to do was run away from this awkward situation. He looked back at Leo, trying to find something witty to say in response, when he noticed something.

  
“And you as well, my king. Especially with your shirt on inside out.”

  
Leo looked slightly embarrassed, but hardly missed a beat. He would win this teasing game. He leaned in close to Takumi’s face and spoke in a low voice.

  
“Why don’t you help me take it off, then?”

  
Takumi’s face lit up and Leo had the dignity to blush as well. Takumi could feel Leo’s breath on his face.

  
Sakura, who could no longer tell if it was a joke or not, grabbed Elise by the hand, ran them towards the door, stuttered an apology, and slammed the door shut behind them. Takumi stared at the door in silence for a moment before turning back towards Leo.

  
“What were you –!?” He started, before Leo put his mouth over Takumi’s.

He yelped in surprise. Takumi could feel himself relinquishing to Leo, melting into his kiss. A pleasant heat spread all over his body. They began moving their lips together, and Leo released Takumi’s hands in favor of placing them on his waist. Takumi wrapped his arms up around Leo’s neck, deepening the kiss. Leo walked Takumi backwards until they bumped up against the wall. Takumi gasped into Leo’s mouth, encouraging him onward.

As if being woken from a trance, Takumi suddenly yanked his head away from Leo’s.

  
“What did we… what did you… what? Why?” Takumi looked terribly confused and Leo chuckled off his twinge of nervousness.

  
“Well, I kissed you and it seems as though you reciprocated.”

  
“I did, didn’t I?” He looked as though he was horrified with himself. “Wait, wait. Why did you kiss me to begin with?” Takumi blushed, but looked determined to get an answer.

  
While he was waiting for Leo to respond, he happened to remember that they were still wrapped around each other. He quickly pulled his arms down from around Leo’s neck, who wouldn’t let go of Takumi’s waist, so all he could do was rest his hands on Leo’s chest.

  
“Are you an imbecile?” Leo questioned him seriously.

  
“Wah – No! I just, I don’t… want to make any assumptions.” He glanced down and away, as if the tatami mats were suddenly more interesting than the man a few inches from his face.

  
“Well, I did get a bit carried away playing along with Elise.” Leo grabbed Takumi’s chin and forced him to look into his eyes.

  
Leo sighed. “But do you really think I would go that far without having some sort of – “ He paused, a blush spreading over his face as he gulped, “ – some sort of feelings for you?”

  
Takumi’s hands clenched at the cloth under his hands.

  
“So… y-you like me?”

  
“As insufferable as you sometimes are,” Leo grinned as Takumi frowned, “I find that being in your presence is as natural as breathing air.”

  
Takumi inhaled sharply, taken aback by such a confession.

  
They stared at each other awkwardly for a moment and Leo finally relinquished his grip on Takumi’s waist. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that so suddenly.” He blushed and tried to cover it with his hand. “I can’t believe I let myself get so carried away.”

  
Takumi was not used to seeing Leo’s emotions plastered on his face. It was kind of cute, seeing the generally cool and calculating Leo red up to his ears. It was always exciting to discover a new side of Leo.

  
“Will you respond already!? This is terribly uncomfortable for me!” Leo raised his voice, bringing Takumi out of his stupor. Leo’s blush now raged on his face.

  
“You were acting so calm and composed earlier,” Takumi leered.

  
“I’ll have you know I’m quite the actor.”

  
Another moment of silence.

  
“Well?” Leo questioned with a tone of uncertainty.

  
“Well… I…” Takumi looked deep in thought with a hand on his chin. “When you kissed me, even though I was surprised, I certainly did not dislike it.”

  
“Obviously.” Leo commented.

  
Takumi coughed. “Anyways. I… I believe our feelings are mutual.”

  
Leo sighed in relief and flopped himself onto the floor. “That was the most terrifying experience of my life.”

  
Takumi snickered and bent over with his hands on his knees. “Really? All those battles you’ve fought, and this is the most terrifying thing?”

  
Leo looked up into Takumi’s eyes. “I was scared I would lose you forever.”

  
This surprised Takumi, causing his eyes to widen.

  
He knelt down next to Leo and placed his left hand on the blond’s cheek. It was a pleasant warmth and Leo leaned his face into the touch. “W-well, now you’ll have me forever.”

  
Leo grabbed Takumi’s other hand a pressed a kiss to the back of it. “As long as you will it, my queen,” he said with a genuinely happy smile. Takumi snorted and slapped his hand out of Leo’s grip.

  
Laughter burst from their lungs. “That was terribly cheesy,” Takumi said, wiping tears from his eyes.

  
“Ha, what about you? ‘Now you’ll have me forever.’” Leo mocked.

  
“I was including myself, you dunce.”

  
They heard muffled voices behind Takumi’s door and they jolted apart.

  
“W-who’s out there?” Takumi questioned the presence as he stood up. Leo rose up as well.

  
Slowly, Sakura and Elise opened the door, both with wildly different expressions. Elise ran into the room with the face on that she only ever makes after she’s read a romance novel. “I was right!” She shouted excitedly. 

Sakura was blushing profusely. “C-congratulations, brother. Congratulations, Prince Leo.” She gave him a slight bow.

“Were you two eavesdropping?” Leo asked, mostly directed towards his own sister.

  
“Do you mean, did we hear you two making out?” Elise especially emphasized the last two words. Leo glared at her. She stood up straighter and dropped the smile from her lips. “Yes, we were eavesdropping.” Leo sighed and Takumi looked humiliated.

  
Takumi placed a hand on Elise’s shoulder, knowing his sister wouldn’t spread rumors, but uncertain about the little bundle of energy standing before him. “Elise, can you keep this a secret, please? At least until we feel comfortable with this… relationship?” Takumi pleaded with her.

  
“Of course, you can count on me Takumi!” She answered supportively. This relieved Takumi’s worries. Leo shook his head with a grimace.

~~~~~~~

  
By the next day at breakfast, the whole castle knew about Leo and Takumi’s “make-out session.”


End file.
